Retired Los Angeles Lakers coach Phil Jackson is reportedly expected to decide on Monday whether he will accept a job with the New York Knicks' front office. Knicks star Carmelo Anthony, meanwhile, has been left in the dark about the possible hiring of Jackson.
After failing to convince Jackson to return to coaching, the Knicks are reportedly expecting to hear a decision on Monday from Jackson as to whether he'd take a job in the front office.
"According to an NBA source familiar with the negotiations, the Knicks expect to have a decision on Monday, approximately two weeks after Jackson turned down an offer to coach the club," Frank Isola of the New York Daily News wrote on Sunday. "The 68-year-old Hall of Fame coach is considering a lucrative deal to join the Knicks' front office and be placed in charge of basketball operations."
ESPN reported Knicks general manager Steve Mills met with Jackson in February to discuss the possibility of coaching the Knicks, something Jackson reportedly was uninterested in. While hiring Jackson would bring credibility - 11 NBA titles as a coach - and stature to the Knicks' organization, it's a move not without risks.
"The downside, of course, is that Jackson has never been an executive and, at this stage of his life and career, on-the-job training could be a risky proposition for both sides," Isola wrote. "Jackson, though, believes he can make the same transition that Pat Riley made nearly 20 years ago when he left the Knicks to run the Miami Heat."
With a notoriously hands-on owner and a first-year general manager, it's uncertain what position Jackson would have or how much power he would actually wield in the organization.
Although the decision to bring Jackson aboard would likely be used to court Anthony in the summer, the perennial All-Star admitted he hasn't been filled in on anything regarding the potential move.
"I don't know what's going on with that, so it's hard for me to say anything," Anthony said on Saturday, via Newsday. "Nobody came to me about that. Until that time comes, I'm still not going to know what's going on, until somebody brings that to me."
Anthony is eligible to opt out of his contract after the season and become a free agent.
